Menace of the Slime
by chilled monkey
Summary: Hibino, Ichijou and Yamana investigate when a flood of slime contaminates the sea.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own "Hareluya II Boy." This story is purely a work of fan fiction. No profit is being made from it.

**Author's Note: **For anyone unfamiliar with Natsumi, she appears in episode 21 of the anime.

* * *

_This is the life_ Ichijou thought as he leaned back on his towel. He sighed contentedly as he felt the sun's warm gold rays on his skin. It was good to take some time off from school, the band and everything else, and just get away from it all for a little while.

And this was the perfect day to do just that, with a blue sky and not a single cloud to be seen. The deep blue ocean sparkled brilliantly in the light. Seagulls cawed to each other as they wheeled and soared overhead.

He, Hibino and Yamana had gone on a trip to the beach where they had met up again with Yamana's childhood friend Natsumi. She had been delighted to see them again and had told Michiru that she would happily return her board anytime she wanted. She had smiled and thanked her but assured her that she was fine as she was. Natsumi had also congratulated her friend on the competition she had recently won.

The four of them had had fun playing volleyball and throwing a Frisbee to each other for a few hours. Natsumi had eventually left as the surf forecasting had turned out to be wrong and the swell was no good for surfing that day, but the three of them had decided to stay for a while. Hibino was currently eating his way through a pile of sundaes while Ichijou and Yamana were relaxing on the beach. He wore a pair of black trunks while she wore her red bikini with yellow stars.

He heard a rustling of movement and looked to his left to see Yamana stand up and stretch her arms over her head.

"I feel like taking a swim" she said cheerfully. "How about you Ichijou?"

"I'll pass. The water looks cold."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"See you."

Yamana waded into the sea. Within only a few moments she was treading water. She swam further out, gliding easily across the sparkling surface. Taking a deep breath she dove under and swam to the seabed, staying there for a moment before pushing off of the sandy surface and propelling herself back up.

She surfaced and looked back at the shore. She had swum further out than she'd meant to but she could still see Ichijou lying back on his towel. She waved and was rewarded by the sight of him waving back.

* * *

After a most enjoyable swim she was about to return to shore when she heard frightened cries and loud splashes. She glanced to her left to see people frantically paddling towards the beach. Concerned, she looked around to try and see what was wrong. Seeing nothing she turned around and her eyes widened.

About ten metres away, the sparkling seawater was now covered by a thick layer of what at first looked like algae. A closer look showed that it was actually a viscous green slime that was slowly spreading outwards like oil on a pan.

Alarmed by the sight she swam for shore.

* * *

Ichijou was lying back and relaxing when he heard people screaming. He jumped to his feet and watched in dismay as panicked swimmers hurried ashore. Looking out to sea in search of what was wrong he spotted the floating green slick spreading out over the sea.

_Yamana! _

He ran forwards, pushing and shoving his way through the panicking crowd fleeing in the opposite direction until finally he made it to the surf. He was just about to charge in when he saw Yamana swimming away from the mass of slime. His fists unclenched and he breathed deeply in relief.

Hibino came running up to him, having finally noticed the commotion. "What's going on here?"

Ichijou pointed out to sea. Hibino looked out in the direction he pointed and his jaw dropped. He started to say something but stopped as he also saw Yamana. He said nothing but his relief was palpable. When she stepped ashore they hurried up to her.

"Are you all right?" Ichijou asked.

"I'm fine" she assured him.

The three of them were now the only people on the beach, everyone else having ran away. They stared out at the green gunk spreading across the water's surface like an oil slick.

"What is that stuff?" Ichijou said.

"Let's find out" said Hibino. He punched a fist into his palm. "Whoever's behind it will pay for polluting Ore-sama's world."

"I have an idea" said Yamana.

* * *

Natsumi heard the knock at her front door and opened it. She smiled in relief when she saw who it was.

"Michiru! I saw a news report about what happened at the beach. I'm so glad you're all okay."

"Thanks Natsumi" she said as they entered.

They quickly described the incident at the beach to her in full detail. When they were finished Yamana said, "Natsumi, I think you can help us find out what happened."

"Me? How?"

"Can you check the surf forecast for today? Especially anything relating to ocean currents?"

She nodded. "I get it. We can use the currents to find out where that stuff came from."

"That's it."

"I'll get right on it."

It took only a few moments for Natsumi to produce a print-out and a map which she brought to them. Hibino peered at the readings, trying to figure out what any of it meant.

"Here's what I found" said Natsumi. "The slick most likely came from the estuary here." She pointed at the map. "The estuary has a river flowing into it. I'll bet someone dumped that gunk into the river and from there it flowed out to sea."

"That's awful" said Yamana.

"It sure is" Ichijou agreed. "But what can we do about it?"

Natsumi pointed to another part of the map. "There's a road here that runs close to the river. That's the most likely spot for any illegal dumping."

"We shall investigate it then" Hibino declared. He stood up dramatically. "Come my servants, we'll soon put a stop to this!"

* * *

"You do realise, don't you Hibino, that even if that stuff was dumped into the river at this point we have no idea if or when whoever did it will go back there?" Ichijou asked.

He, Yamana and Hibino were currently making their way through a forest as they approached the river. They had taken a taxi to the area but Hibino had insisted they stop some distance away and walk the rest of the way so that the dumpers wouldn't hear them coming.

"Ore-sama has a feeling. His instincts are never wrong" Hibino replied.

"Besides even if we don't find anything at least we get to enjoy a nice walk in the forest" said Yamana.

"That's the spirit" said Hibino. "Ichijou is too much of a city boy."

"And I suppose you're at one with nature are you Hibino?"

"Of course. Ore-sama feels a connection to the world he will rule. Ah here we are."

All of them stopped as the forest in front of them gave way to open space. A river made a soft gurgling sound as it flowed past. A few metres away was the road and parked there was a large truck.

Several men wearing industrial boiler suits stood by the river. They were gathered around a trolley loaded with large metal drums. One of the men pried open a drum and then they tilted it over the river. Thick green ooze, the exact same as they had seen at the beach, poured out and formed a covering over the river as it was carried downstream.

"What did I tell you? We've caught them red-handed" said Hibino. He strode out into the open and bellowed, "You there! How dare you poison Ore-sama's world! You will pay for this."

Startled, the dumpers turned to see Hibino glaring furiously at them.

"No witnesses. Get them" yelled one of the men.

Reaching behind his back and drawing a pipe seemingly from thin air Hibino charged in, Ichijou right behind him as Yamana watched from the foliage. The dumpers ran to meet them.

Ichijou easily sidestepped a wide swing at his head and took out one guy with a powerful kick. Before he hit the ground Ichijou had moved on to another foe and downed him with a punch to the face.

Hibino laughed as he knocked a dumper out with a blow from his pipe. Easily blocking their punches he took down two more. It seemed like the outcome of the fight was a foregone conclusion.

But then one of the men emerged from behind the trolley brandishing a thick, bulky hose. He aimed it at Hibino and turned the valve.

A thick jet of slime flew through the air and splattered Hibino with enough force to knock him off his feet. He yelled in anger and disgust as he got up and looked down at himself. He was coated almost completely in sticky green gunk that was slowly trickling down and forming puddles around his feet. His hair was matted and stuck to his head.

He wiped some of the stuff from his eyes and glared furiously at the dumper. "I'll get you for that you bas…"

His words trailed off and his eyes closed. He dropped to his knees and slumped to the ground, lying face-first in the vile ooze.

"Hibino!"

Ichijou realised too late that the dumper was now aiming the hose at him. A torrent of ooze hit him directly and he fell as it enveloped him like a disgusting blanket.

The dumper laughed. "Ha ha, they'll be done for in just a few minutes. Let's head back and pick up the next load."

They loaded the now empty drums and the trolley into the truck and drove off.

* * *

Fighting back an urge to rush over to Hibino and Ichijou, Yamana ducked behind a tree and peered out carefully.

She watched as the dumpers loaded their truck and drove away. As soon as they were gone she hurried over to the guys.

"Hibino! Ichijou!"

Neither of them replied. They both lay completely still in foul pools of slime.

_I have to get this stuff off of them _Yamana thought.

She took hold of Hibino and pulled hard. The sticky slime held him to the ground but she persisted and was able to prise him off of it. She then dragged him over to the river. As carefully as she could she waded into it up to her knees and then pulled him in. She held onto him firmly as the fast-flowing water washed the ooze off. Once the gunk was gone she dragged him ashore and ran over to Ichijou. He too was pried free of the pool of ooze and hauled across the ground to the river

As Yamana was holding Ichijou in the water and allowing it to clean the slime off, Hibino groaned and stood up. "What happened?" he said dazedly.

"Hibino!" she cried happily as she brought Ichijou to the riverbank. A second later and he began coughing as he sat up. She gently held him until his coughing subsided.

"Are you okay Ichijou?"

"I'm fine" he replied. He winced as he stood up and seeing her worried expression he added "I feel a little sick but don't worry, it's nothing serious."

"Hah, you're weak Ichijou" said Hibino. "Ore-sama is…"

He stumbled and put a hand on a tree to steady himself.

"We should get you both to a hospital" said Yamana.

"It's okay, really" Ichijou insisted. He stood more firmly. "The nausea's already fading. You must have gotten that gunk off of us before it could do any lasting damage."

She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

"No, thank you" said Hibino with unusual seriousness.

"That's right" Ichijou agreed. "Thank you Yamana."

She smiled. "No problem."

Hibino glared at where the truck had been. "Now how are we going to find those *********?"

"It's okay Hibino" said Yamana. "I heard the leader say they were going to pick up more of that stuff. They should be back here soon."

"Good, we'll wait" he replied. "Nobody slimes Ore-sama and gets away with it."

* * *

Just a few moments later the truck returned. As the boiler-suited goons emerged with more metal drums Hibino sprang out of hiding with a fearsome war cry. Before they could react he had downed half of them.

The leader went for the hose again but Hibino was ready for him. He drew out a brick and jammed it into the nozzle just as he turned the valve. Hibino leapt clear as the hose exploded, sending ooze flying all around. The leader staggered back and Hibino dropped him with one punch.

In no time at all, all the goons lay scattered around unconscious. Ichijou and Yamana stared at the scene in amazement.

"He must really hate getting slimed" Ichijou whispered.

"It looks like it" she agreed.

Hibino turned back to the leader and grinned evilly. "Now for some answers" he said as he produced a feathery fan.

* * *

It did not take long for Hibino to tickle-torture all of the dumpers into giving themselves and their employers up. The chemical factory they worked at was investigated and all responsible for the dumping were brought in. With the source of the contamination stopped the slime was soon cleaned up and within a week the beach was open to the public again.

Hibino sat back on his towel and idly watched the others. Ichijou was playing soccer with some kids. Yamana and Natsumi were swimming in the sea.

"Heh, look at my servants tiring themselves out" he muttered. "Ore-sama doesn't need to bother himself with such things. He knows how to relax."

With that he leaned back, arms folded behind his head, and shut his eyes. A little while later a soccer ball landed next to him.

"Oi Hibino! Throw us our ball back" Ichijou called.

There was no answer. Annoyed, Ichijou walked up to him and was about to start berating him when he noticed his friend's regular breathing and the way his eyes were moving under the lids. He realised that Hibino was asleep.

Ichijou grinned as an idea came to him.

* * *

Hibino yawned as he woke up. "Ah, Ore-sama must have dozed off."

He tried to stretch his arms but to his surprise he couldn't move. He opened his eyes and they promptly bulged as he realised that he was buried up to his neck in sand. Ichijou grinned down at him.

"Ichijou! You will dig Ore-sama out now!" Hibino yelled.

"Sure" he replied casually. "As soon as I've had some juice. Digging makes me thirsty. I'm also a little tired so I'll take a rest. Let's hope I don't fall asleep."

Hibino shook with fury and then exploded up out of the ground, sending clouds of sand flying in all directions. Ichijou turned and fled.

Yamana and Natsumi laughed as they watched Hibino chase him around the beach yelling threats.


End file.
